Tel Aviv: The largest ever duel between long-range ballistic missiles and interceptors was witnessed on October 1 as Iran attacked Israel with a barrage of approximately 200 ballistic missiles. While most of those missiles were destroyed before reaching their target, some did impact and cause minimal damage.
The Iranian missiles were intercepted by the Israeli Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems. The two air defence systems were allowed to launch the interceptors only to hit those Iranian missiles that were on a trajectory to hit populated areas.
Two US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the USS Cole and USS Bulkeley, both deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean, fired a dozen interceptors at incoming Iranian ballistic missiles as part of defending Israel.
The IDF declared that Israel’s air defences were “effective”. According to the military, the US took part in Israel’s defence as well by sharing real time intelligence about the evolving attack.
Following the strike, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu addressed the security cabinet in a fortified bunker close to Jerusalem, warning that Tehran had made a “big mistake tonight” and promising that “it will pay for it”. He declared that the attack on Israel had “failed” and that Israel’s “world class air defence system” was responsible for its thwarting.
Boaz Levy, President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) congratulated the Israeli defence establishment on their successful deployment using an array of air defence systems including the Arrow system, radar systems, and intelligence systems developed by the IAI to protect the citizens of Israel when Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel.
“The great achievement this evening is that the citizens of Israel can wake up tomorrow morning, for the second time after an Iranian attack, to a day as normal as possible, and celebrate Rosh Hashana safely. Our team at Israel Aerospace Industries works day and night to keep our skies safe, and the results of the interceptions are proof of their excellence,” Boaz Levy said.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
